Business Development

Legal Fees Jump 15 Percent over Two Years, Even as Billables Remain Flat, Study Says

Law firms are reaping more in legal fees, likely because of rate increases and clients willing to pay top dollar for the best legal talent, according to a study of legal spending data. Legal fees for 37 companies studied were nearly $950 million for the first two quarters of 2012,…

Jan 10, 2013 2:13 PM CST

US Trustee Seeks Clawback of $10M in Fees from Kaye Scholer, Financial Adviser in Bankruptcy Case

The U.S. Trustee Program is asking a federal court in Manhattan to strip a well-known law firm and a financial adviser of $10 million in fees they have earned in a major corporate bankruptcy case. Kaye Scholer and the adviser, Capstone, perpetrated a fraud on the bankruptcy court, the U.S.…

Jan 8, 2013 8:40 PM CST

Foley Hoag Represented Boston Municipal Jurist for Free in Judicial Independence Case

Updated: Last year, a Boston municipal judge fended off an ethics complaint spearheaded by the Suffolk County district attorney’s office, which complained that he was biased in favor of criminal defendants, with the help of one of the city’s most prominent law firms. Now the Boston Globe (sub. req.). is…

Jan 8, 2013 7:34 PM CST

Does Legal Fees Motion in $590M Citigroup Case Include $1K Per Hour for Low-Paid Contract Lawyers?

A protester has filed an objection to a legal-fees request in a securities case settled by Citigroup for $590 million, contending that the lead plaintiffs law firm is trying to charge $1,000 per hour for some contract attorneys who were actually paid only a small fraction of that amount. Attorney…

Jan 3, 2013 8:03 PM CST

Video: UBS Smacked in LIBORgate Settlement; $7M Legal Fee Bill Dispute; Mega-Merger in the Works?

Editor’s Note: We’re experimenting with using more video on ABAJournal.com and will be bringing you this short weekly legal news brief from Bloomberg Law. Adding video would not mean eliminating text-based stories. Rather, we’re exploring adding more multimedia options in addition to our text-based posts. Also, in response to the…

Dec 20, 2012 6:45 PM CST

Judge Tentatively Awards $724K in Attorney Fees for Inmate’s Successful Sex-Change Suit

Lawyers who persuaded a federal judge to order a state-paid sex-change operation for a Massachusetts inmate will earn more than $700,000 for their efforts. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark Wolf said Wednesday he had tentatively decided on an award of $724,000 to the lawyers who represented inmate Michelle Lynn…

Dec 20, 2012 2:22 PM CST

The Aftermath of Urging Law Firms Not to Send Out Price-Increase Letters

I recently wrote a piece for Corporate Counsel magazine that suggested that law firms might want to think twice about sending out their annual rate increase letter. The response has been incredible. And vehement. From every side. No surprise, eh? I’ll assume that you’ve either read the article, or that…

Dec 13, 2012 6:06 PM CST

Are You Raising Your Billing Rate in 2013?

This week, we took note of a column by Susan Hackett, a principal at the consultancy Legal Executive Leadership that chides law firms for their annual letters sent in December to announce rate increases. For one thing, December is too late in the year to notify clients, who have already…

Dec 5, 2012 8:29 PM CST

Family of Deceased Elderly Couple Dispute Guardian Lawyers over Tens of Thousands in Bills

Corrected: The battle between a court-appointed law firm and the family of an elderly couple that was in its care over legal fees is raising questions of the treatment of aging Americans by paid guardians and the lack of state processes to protect them. A judge appointed Virginia-based law firm…

Dec 4, 2012 11:00 PM CST

Chief Justice Criticizes ‘Disingenuous’ Characterization of Administration Flip-Flops

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. made it clear during oral arguments on Tuesday that he wasn’t happy with footnote 9 in a brief by the Solicitor General’s office. Roberts “publicly dressed down an Obama administration lawyer” for disguising policy changes made under new presidents, Reuters reports. Though it wasn’t…

Nov 29, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Ga. Lawyer Ordered to Pay $10K Legal Bill In Contentious Municipal Case

In the latest chapter in a contentious litigation saga over a commercial building dispute, a Georgia lawyer has been ordered to pay $10,000 in legal fees for the city of Marietta. Richard Capriola is the seventh attorney to represent Waleed Jaraysi in the hard-fought battle over a partially completed multi-story…

Nov 26, 2012 5:00 PM CST

Judge Says Victimized Wife Doesn’t Have to Pay $25K Legal Bill for Ex-Spouse Imprisoned In Sex Case

Crystal Harris expected to help others by fighting for a new California law that prevents courts from ordering victims of spousal abuse to pay support to the other spouse after they are divorced. But it turns out she also helped herself. Already obligated to pay a $47,000 bill to the…

Nov 13, 2012 7:57 PM CST

W. Va. Lawyer Takes Plea in Federal Mail Fraud Case re $159K in Claimed False PD Billing Vouchers

A West Virginia private practitioner accused of defrauding the state’s public defender agency of $159,000 by billing for hours she did not work has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of mail fraud. Lisa A. Weese, 43, remains free on bond pending sentencing after her Tuesday plea in U.S. District…

Nov 7, 2012 6:34 PM CST

Prepping a Value-Fee Engagement Letter? Consider These 13 Issues First

I routinely am asked for copies of our engagement letters by people who want to utilize an alternative fee arrangement with their client. To address these queries, I have boiled down the points to be covered. As I have said many times, Valorem is a litigation firm, so this list…

Nov 7, 2012 3:02 PM CST

Supreme Court: Anti-Abortion Protester May Be Entitled to Attorney Fees Based on Injunction

An anti-abortion protester in South Carolina is a prevailing party who may be entitled to attorney fees, even though he did not win any damages, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. Steven Lefemine of Columbia Christians for Life won a permanent injunction restricting the sheriff’s police in Greenwood County from…

Nov 5, 2012 4:59 PM CST